“What are you doing? I told you, I’m not going to consort with you. I’m Dardaptoan, we don’t consort.”
“Unless you are Kindara? But what is good enough for your friend, is good enough for you. You will change your mind soon. No female can resist the prince of Incubi for too long.”
Dear goddess, what was he planning? Why? “Leave me alone, Renakletos. I don’t want you.” A damned lie, but she would never, ever let her Rajni know. That way would only lay heartache. What if the Laquazzean had meant that she’d only have Thas for a little while, that she was still meant to die soon? Wouldn’t it be best to continue hiding their destined bond from him?
Would he even believe in that destiny if she told him? His Kind didn’t mate for life, not unless they were in the deepest of gamata, his Warrior Demonkin’s sacred mating bond.
And there was no guarantee that Renakletos would ever want that kind of bond with her. Probably unlikely, from what she knew about him and his Kinds. Didn’t demons—especially Incubi—have sex frequently and oft times indiscriminately? Would anything between them even mean anything to him, if they were to...?
She shook that thought off. Renakletos could only bring trouble, and she’d do well to remember that. She stepped away from him. “I don’t consort, especially with males who have no hope of ever being my Rajni. Don’t ask me, again. It will never happen.”
“A word of caution, pet. Don’t challenge a prince of Incubi in such a manner. It only makes him more determined.” He grabbed her, though gently, and turned her around to face him. He leaned down until their lips were almost touching. It was as if the two children in their arms didn’t exist in that moment. “And Aureliana, forget this Rajni of yours. I have decided. You are mine, now. And nothing will stop me from having what I want.”
Chapter Nineteen
A sudden babe required sudden change—Aureliana learned that quickly over the next few days. She spent most of her time tending to Thas and keeping Kindara company as the castle prepared for the Healers’ arrivals. Kindara hadn’t gotten her Summit as early as she’d intended, but it had just been two weeks since Aureliana arrived in Relaklonos. How short that seemed, for everything that had happened to her. Still, she was glad the Summit was upon them. Helping Kindara kept her busy.
And kept her avoiding Renakletos.
“The demon is determined.” Kindara rocked Thas in the chair by the window. Aureliana sat trying to piece together Rathan’s notes about which Kind of demons were allies and which were foes. Such political minefields would have to be carefully maneuvered during the Healer’s Summit.
“Yes. And stupidly arrogant if he thinks a little attention will be enough to sway me.” She’d confessed Ren’s threat to Kindara, but kept the knowledge that the big purple demon was her Rajni to herself. Kindara would only worry needlessly.
Renakletos had stalked her for two days, following her and Thas and making his claim on her known to everyone who saw them together.
He was driving her crazy. Him being loving and actually solicitous of her welfare was something she was not used to from him. He reminded her of Rathan’s determined pursuit of Kindara all those months ago.
Hopefully he wouldn’t prove quite as determined as Rathan, but she feared he would. Feared he wouldn’t stop until he had her beneath him, claiming her as his damned consort.
His consort not his mate.
That made her feel a bit...dirty. Second best in a way she hadn’t expected. Did he even understand what a consort bond was asking of her? A consort bond worked for Kindara and Rathan—Kindara loved the demon king but he was not her Rajni; Rathan was her second chance. They were building a solid relationship, a deeper love, between them than was common for demon consort bonds. They were the exceptions in this realm.
She was the exception. In all things, apparently. Never had a demon and a Dardaptoan been mated, fated, whatever you wanted to call it. What was she supposed to do here? He wanted a short-term affair, he’d made that clear with his sly looks and the way he’d touch her when she’d let her guard down.
He’d made seducing her his foremost priority. And now everyone knew it.
“Oh, Kinney, what am I supposed to do?”
“You could have a flaming hot affair with him.” Aureliana stared at her friend. Kindara was serious.
“Don’t look at me like that. When was the last time you slept with a man? When you were three hundred? That’s an awful long time, Auri. I don’t think anyone would fault you for having a bit of fun.”
Who was this woman now occupying her friend’s body? “Are you serious?”
“I am bonded with the king of Incubi. They think a great deal about sex, especially when they can’t have it. Who better to have an affair with than an Incubi prince?”
Who better? Yeah, right. Not exactly how Aureliana would have put the question.
***
Thas was finally sleeping, snuggled in the hand-carved cradle that Renakletos had brought to her suite two nights ago. It was one of the many gifts he’d given her and the babe, and was one of the few she had truly appreciated. Ren was everywhere, surrounding her.
Watching her with those black demon eyes of his. Half the time those eyes burned with lust—a lust she didn’t quite trust was real—and the other half he watched her with speculation...and worry. Why was he worried?
As if he knew she was thinking of him—and she wouldn’t put it past him; Incubi had the ability to slip into a woman’s deeper thoughts with little difficulty—he flashed into her room.
Into her bed.
Wearing nothing but his sleep trousers, bare skin, and an arrogant smile. “Spawn sleeping yet, female?”
“Yes. Why?” She took a step or three away from the bed, from the muscled demon looking at her with that arrogance that said he was the prince of the sex demons.
“I heard his cries and was concerned.”
“He’s fine, now. You can get out of here.” He looked bigger without a shirt, muscled and hard. Perfect. His skin was faintly blue—his preferred color of confidence—but not too much so. His trousers rode low on his hips, hinting at what was beneath.
Goddess help her, she was hungry. For blood. And for her Rajni. “You can’t just come in my room anytime you want.”
“But pet, I was concerned.”
“Don’t call me that.” It was too reminiscent of Rathan and Kindara. And she somehow doubted he meant it with the same affection his brother used with her best friend. No, he was up to something, and it involved this fake seduction attempt. “What is it you want from me? We both know there’s no real attraction between us.” Except that put into place by her Goddess. But Aureliana wasn’t about to mention that. “So odds are you’re planning something. And it is probably something I’m not going to like. So…out.”
She walked toward the door, passing too close to the big blue creature in her bed. Blue wasn’t his natural color—it was more a dark tan, similar to many humans—but he seemed to be that color around her a lot. He grabbed her arm, stopping her. He moved quick, pulling her down to the mattress with him. He covered her mouth when she tried to protest. “Shhh, female. You’ll wake the spawn-of-whatever. Neither of us wants that to happen right now. He has powerful lungs. I heard him clear down the hallway. And how do you know there’s no attraction between us? I am half-Incubi; there will be no female of any of the lesser Kinds who cannot resist me. Including you. I shall prove it to you.”
He removed his hand, but replaced it with his mouth. Hot, quick…skilled. Aureliana forced herself to push against him, when all she wanted to do was cling for a bit, take a little bit of comfort from the male who in a different life would have been her mate.
“Shhh. Why do you fight it so? You know this is not wrong.” He brushed a hand down her front, and the sleep vestis parted beneath his fingers. This time she wore nothing beneath. His hands were so damned skilled. Damned prince of the Incubi, trained in the art of seduction from youth. How could she fight him, w
hen her very blood was calling out for him?
It wasn’t fair, the position the goddess had put her in. Why him? Why? And why now?
***
Rajni. That word hit him straight between the eyes when he slipped into the female’s mind the way Incubi were wont to do. Rajni. Him.
Was she thinking he was this mate the goddess of her people had chosen for her? He was fated by no one. His life was his choice, not some weak and puny goddess’s.
Ren jerked away from her, leaving her staring up at him, confusion on her face. “I am not your Rajni. You can stop thinking that.”
“I wasn’t. You are the last male who would ever be my Rajni.” She rolled off the bed and righted her clothing, covering the soft skin he’d only seconds earlier been touching. She glared at him, a challenge in her eyes.
Still, was there hurt on her face? He hadn’t meant to do that. “Why were you thinking it, then?”
“How do you know if I was? Maybe I was thinking you wouldn’t even compare to my Rajni.” He couldn’t miss the disdain her words now. “I think that mind-reading thing you do is a bit broken if you think I’d ever even for a moment believe a beast like you is my Rajni.”
Had any female ever looked at him with just that expression of actual disgust? Ren didn’t think so. He stalked around the end of the bed and grabbed the warrior girl around the arms. He dragged her off her feet, lifting her until they were eye to eye. “I’m not your mate, woman. But I will have you.”
“No. You will not. Even if you were my Rajni it’s obvious you wouldn’t want to be. Why would I ever sleep with someone who didn’t actually want me? I’m not that pitiful of a woman. If I want an affair there are plenty of males of any Kind who would be willing to accommodate me. Put me down, you damned barbarian.” She kicked him. Right in the groin. He shifted at the last moment, so that her heel caught his inner thigh.
Ren bellowed, and dropped her. She shoved him out of her way, then opened the door to her suite.
“Leave. You’re not welcome in here. Don’t enter again. Next time I won’t just kick you.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Take it for what you will. Don’t put your damned hands on me again.”
Ren didn’t stop to think; if she wanted to act a warrior, then he would treat her as such. He lunged for her, grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her to the floor. He wrapped his hands around her wrists and pulled her arms above her head. It arched her chest against his.
She hissed the sound angry Dardaptoans were wont to make right before they struck. She bit at him, her teeth getting extremely close to his ear. His growl was bigger, deeper, than anything she could ever hope to accomplish. He nipped her ear, hard enough to draw blood. “Don’t threaten me, pet. Haven’t we discussed this before?”
“Get off of me, you asshole!” She bucked, her legs on either side of his waist.
“Shhh. You’ll wake that spawn-of-whatever.” He twisted the fingers of one hand so he could hold both her wrists, and then dragged his free hand down her face, brushing his finger over her lips. Next he brushed her neck, knowing where the Dardaptoan females were the most sensitive. He spread his fingers around her neck. She felt so delicate, so fragile. Did she even realize that? He would have to be careful not to hurt her when he took her.
She was still cursing at him, an almost sense of desperation in her movements. That puzzled him. They’d sparred before, albeit with swords, but surely she knew he would not hurt her, not ever again? Was she frightened of him?
“Shhh.” He brushed his lips over her rapid pulse. “Shhh. We do not need to fight each other so.”
“Leave me alone, Ren. Just leave me alone.” Her words were almost a sob, and that—more than anything—had him pulling back. “Please…”
He had never heard the girl so vulnerable. So frightened. So hurt.
Why?
***
Why wouldn’t he just leave? He obviously hated even the mere idea of being her Rajni. Why wouldn’t he just get out of her room, get away from her, and leave her alone if she was that repulsive to him? He wanted her, but not on a deep forever basis. Didn’t he understand that for her there was no real choice in the matter? If he ever realized that he was her Rajni that would give him so much power. Power she couldn’t resist.
Aureliana kicked again, trying to dislodge him. He had to weigh more than three hundred pounds, solid muscle, and he was just as determined to stay where he was as she was to get away from. “Get off of me!”
“If I don’t?” He was still stroking her hair, her neck, and just using his superior weight to hold her in place. “What will you do, pet? Why won’t you let me taste you here? It won’t hurt either of us to enjoy each other for a bit. And you might as well get the idea of any other male touching you out of your head. You’re mine.”
“For now, you mean?” She injected as much disdain, as much sarcasm, into her voice as she could. She was his. In every way. Dear Goddess, she was. Even though he was a brute, a big bastard, careless and unfeeling in a lot of ways. She wanted him to kiss her, to stroke her. To love her.
To love her. Forever. And he so obviously didn’t. Couldn’t. She wasn’t even entirely certain that he wanted her. At least not for real. No, he was using sex against her because he wanted something from her and because as an Incubus halfling that was a tool he possessed. But that didn’t mean she had to fall victim to his manipulation. She was tougher than that.
He still had a death grip on her wrists and Aureliana pulled against his hand. Why could he hold her in place with only one hand? It wasn’t right that he was so much stronger. What had the Goddess been thinking? “Let go of me!”
“Or what? What can you do against me, kitten? I am bigger, stronger, more powerful in every way. You cannot fight me. We both know that.” He bit her, hard, on the side of the neck. Aureliana hissed again, this time the sound one of protest and pleasure. Damn him, he did know about Dardaptoan women, didn’t he? “And your body tells me you truly do not want to fight me. Or is it that you are fighting yourself?”
“Off! Now!” She couldn’t. She could not be so weak. If she gave in now, she would never be able to let him go. Not when it really mattered. “Please! Just let me go!”
Even she heard the tears in her voice now.
He jerked away; the suddenness of his move startled her. She lay on the floor, breathing heavily for a moment. She rolled to her side, then stood. Looked at the creature that she told herself she wanted to hate. She knew it was a lie. “Leave me alone. I don’t want or need anything from you. And whatever it is you’re planning, I want no part of it. I don’t ever want you to touch me again.”
***
“The worlds hinge upon the warrior girl.” Rathan stared at Renakletos. “And you’re just now mentioning it?”
“You have enough to worry about. This is a task that I have been given. And one I will assume. The girl will be safe and protected within the walls of this castle, raising spawn. My spawn. And the one she calls Thas. She will finally leave the fighting to the males, as it should be. Still, I am wanting a guard of my own men, the ones I trust the most, assigned to her at all times. We mustn’t be foolish; not with her. She is more important than all of us. That was made very clear to the gods of her people.”
“And then she was taken by a Laquazzean and given a spawn of indeterminate Kind to raise. And the Beansidhe still screams for her. A war is brewing between realms, within realms. And the success or failure hinges on the warrior girl. And she does not know? And we are tasked with guarding her; against what, we do not know. For how long, we do not. Brother, are you sure you are up to the challenge?”
Ren’s skin flashed red. He did not like being questioned, even by this brother. “Rest you this, brother. The warrior girl shall be mine consort soon. She will be protected by me. Nothing or no one shall deny me that right. As I claim her, as my gamata.”
Rathan’s eyes widened; his surprise so easy to read for one who knew him.
“Does she know thus?”
“No. I have not told her, yet.” He knew why his brother was surprised. A gamata was more than just a consort; the only term he’d found like it in all of the worlds was the Rajni bond the girl’s people saw as customary. More, actually. There were no power-hungry deities overseeing a Warrior Demon’s mating choices. A gamata was something a Warrior Demon chose to have, chose to be a part of. It was not something a deity fated into place.
No, he had complete choice and freewill in this decision to gamata with the warrior girl.
Many Warrior Demons never made such a choice, fearing the deep bond that existed between gamata pairs. Ren had never contemplated it before, either. Especially with a woman who was not his first ideal.
While he found the girl attractive, she was by far not the most beautiful he had been with. He was the prince of Incubi, after all, for all that his Warrior blood was dominant.
While he admired her fighting abilities, she was but a Dardaptoan and not a true Warrior. She never would be. That was just a given. And a Warrior Demon could only be attracted to a true warrior female.
But this situation was different; he had no real choice in the matter. She had to be controlled and contained, kept safe. And with a female like her, the only true option was gamata with a strong male. One who could control her.
One worthy of a woman chosen like she had been. The man had to be her equal. That left few options.
No. He truly had no choice. He was the only male capable of the task.
“She is mine.”
Chapter Twenty
Ren watched every move she made for days following their altercation in her room. What was it going through her mind? Was she thinking he was her Rajni? If so, why hadn’t she acted on it before? It had been almost nine months since he’d run her through with his sword. Nine months since they had met. Wouldn’t she have known before now if her Goddess had somehow fated the two of them to be together? Was it even possible for the girl goddess to do such? He was a being just as strong as the girl goddess, and lived in an entirely different realm. How could her magics or abilities or whatever they were called have even spanned the barrier between realms? And why him?
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